Uber launches online petition in Vegas

Uber, which last week brought its controversial ride-sharing app to Nevada, is battling opponents and gathering support with an online petition drive before it faces a Clark County District Court hearing Wednesday.

By RICHARD N. VELOTTA LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

October 28, 2014 - 2:31 pm

Uber driver Michael Elsner, left, calls an Uber representive after being detained by law enforcement officers in front of the Fashion Show on Friday, Oct. 24, 2014. (Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

The petition is posted on Uber’s website. A spokeswoman for the company said the petition was signed by 3,000 people the first hour it was posted. By midafternoon, the total had climbed to more than 9,000.

The petition is structured in the form of a letter to Gov. Brian Sandoval and Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto.

“As a Nevadan, I am writing to urge you to stand with the people of Nevada in support of Uber and the choice and opportunity it provides,” the petition letter says.

The letter says millions of riders have supported Uber by becoming customers and hundreds of thousands have become contracted drivers.

But critics are quick to point out that Uber is operating outside the bounds of the law by providing public transportation without a license.

Representatives of Clark County’s taxi and limousine industries have met with Uber officials in a bid to get the company licensed in the state. Industry representatives say Uber rejected their overtures, saying they wouldn’t be able to be profitable under the state’s regulatory system.

Enforcement officers from both agencies cited drivers and impounded their vehicles. Uber responded by vowing to back its contracted drivers and providing rental cars for them until vehicles were freed from impoundment. Drivers can be fined up to $10,000 per incident and Uber officials said 11 drivers have been cited.

An Uber spokeswoman didn’t have specifics on the number of rides drivers have provided in Nevada so far, saying that they’ve sold “thousands,” all of them originating outside the city’s resort corridor and away from McCarran International Airport.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Find him on Twitter: @RickVelotta

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